August 22, 2010

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Article: Listening to Music in Ramadan

by Umm Muawiyah

Assalamu Alaikum.

You know what I find amazing? Let me tell you.

I find it amazing that there are so many people that listen to music and watch movies/ soap operas outside of Ramadan, only to stop for the duration of Ramadan. Yet, these same people will not agree when you inform them that listening to music and watching movies is haraam.

[I used to be one of those.]

A few questions to those who do this:

1) When the angels write down your deeds, they need to write it down as a bad deed or a good deed.

Where will the act of listening to music and watching movies go? In the good deeds section?

2) Would you openly announce in an Islamic gathering, in front of Islamic shaikhs and scholars, that you listen to music and watch movies?

If not, then why not? If there’s nothing wrong with these deeds, then why do you feel shy about telling the people of knowledge?

If you feel shy having them know about this aspect of your life, then don’t you think Allah is more deserving that you be shy in front of Him???

3) Why is it that you give up these acts during fasting and Ramadan?

There are only three halal things that become haram during fasting: eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse with one’s spouse.

So, everything that is halal remains halal during fasting and Ramadan.

If you give it up, I’m assuming that is an implicit acknowledgment from your side that these acts are not good and are not halaal.

4) Do these activities benefit you in any way?

One sister told me that some movies were “informational”.

Right, like people really watch movies for the information.

5) What do you have to say about all the evidence on the prohibition of music?

Have you even read it? Or did you just avoid it? If so, why? Were you afraid of feeling guilty?

6) Why don’t you take the safe side and just give it up?

At least 99% of the scholars have prohibited music (in fact I read that there was a consensus on this issue). Do you think that they were wrong?

Do you not think that this is enough reason to leave these acts? To be on the safe side?

In my youth, I was a music and movies fanatic (yes, in addition to being a sports fanatic). I used to watch 3 programs at one time (in two different languages – “tasbeeh with the remote” as Brother Riad said). I had hundreds of music tapes and hundreds of movies.

7 years ago, I finally stopped. It took a few months for me to stop everything and it took 2 years to stop the “withdrawal symptoms”.

[I destroyed all the tapes and CDs, by the way. Most of them with my own hands. Some of the others were destroyed by my friend’s children. They had great fun.]

I’m so happy that I stopped because:

1) I don’t have to fight with myself anymore. That was difficult.

2) I don’t have to feel that secret feeling of guilt when the issue of music being haram is mentioned in Islamic lectures.

3) I have a life now. When I was into these things, I lived on a parallel plane. I didn’t live in reality. I ignored my problems instead of facing them.

4) I can spend my money on things that will benefit me.

5) Rather than wasting my time, I can spend my time on things that will benefit me and others. There are zillions of things to do.

(How can anyone be bored enough with life to sit and waste their time watching Ridge marry Brooke for the hundredth time???)

6) I can say that there was at least one thing that I gave up out of the fear of Allah, and I hope that this thing will benefit me on the Last Day.

7) I know that it’s possible to make a big change in one’s life. So next time I have to do so, it will be easier because I know that I’ve done it at least once before.

My advice to those who are still involved in these activities: Just give it up. If you don’t give it up for good in Ramadan, then when do you plan to do so?

Don’t you want to stand in front of Allah on the last day and say that you gave up something out of fear of Him?

If you are fasting, and you get you menstrual cycle at the last five minutes before iftar, do you still have to break your fast. Another questions is music haraam while fasting?

Praise be to Allaah.

Listening to music is haraam, whether in Ramadaan or at other times, but it is more forbidden in Ramadaan, and is a greater sin, because fasting does not only mean refraining from eating and drinking, rather it means attaining piety or fear of Allaah, and it means that all the physical faculties should refrain from disobeying Allaah.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe! Observing As-Sawm (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)”

[al-Baqarah 2:183]

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Fasting does not just mean (abstaining) from eating and drinking, rather fasting means (abstaining) from idle and obscene talk…”

Narrated by al-Haakim who said: This hadeeth is saheeh according to the conditions of Muslim.

The saheeh Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) clearly indicates that listening to musical instruments is haraam.

Al-Bukhaari narrated in a mu’allaq report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There will be among my ummah people who regard adultery, silk, pork and musical instruments as permissible…” Al-Tabaraani and al-Bayhaqi said that this was a mawsool report.

This hadeeth indicates that musical instruments are haraam in two ways:

1 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “[they] will regard… as permissible.” This clearly indicates that the things mentioned are haraam, but those people will regard them as permissible.

2 – Musical instruments are mentioned in conjunction with things that are definitely haraam, namely adultery (zina) and alcohol. If it were not haraam it would not have been mentioned alongside them.

See al-Silsilah al-Saheehah by al-Albaani , hadeeth no. 91.

The believer should make the most of this blessed month and turn to his Lord. He should repent to Allaah and give up haraam things that he was in the habit of doing before Ramadaan, so that Allaah might accept his fast and set his affairs straight.

Well, nearly all the scholars oppose your opinion. There are MANY ahadeeth which point to the prohibition of music.

If you wish, I will provide you with a whole list that shows that it is undoubtedly prohibited.

Yes, this is one of the reasons that I too used to listen to it in the past and now I realise how senseless it all was. We can’t run away from our problems – we can only face and solve them. That’s what I do now and my life is all the better for it, alhamdulillah.